109, 109 ,109 ,109 ,109 !!!

I really cant understand the guys that have to model every variant.  They must have people who come into the house and say "Um, why have you built 20 of the same plane ?"

Actually, I was surprised to see than Manny didnt mention the 109.  Whats gives Manny ?

I am ashamed to admit it, but I rarely open up a post these days if it's another 109.

Theres just nothing that stirs the blood about them anymore.  I always thought the Ju87 was a far more intimidating/sinister looking plane.

Wirraway wrote:

109, 109 ,109 ,109 ,109 !!! I really cant understand the guys that have to model every variant.  They must have people who come into the house and say "Um, why have you built 20 of the same plane ?" Actually, I was surprised to see than Manny didnt mention the 109.  Whats gives Manny ? I am ashamed to admit it, but I rarely open up a post these days if it's another 109. Theres just nothing that stirs the blood about them anymore.  I always thought the Ju87 was a far more intimidating/sinister looking plane.

Yeah, I guess I didn't mention it because I'm guilty off over-modeling it..LOL. In defense of us who do model a lot of 109's however, I would say that the diversity in markings, makes, and the sheer number built during the war has got to have a lot to do with it... 

Don't even get me started on my FW collection, but I also have a good representation of "under-modeled" a/c as well:

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb110/dblvisions2001/t-34006-6.jpg[/IMG]http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb110/dblvisions2001/Allied020.jpg[/IMG]

Wirraway wrote:

109, 109 ,109 ,109 ,109 !!! I really cant understand the guys that have to model every variant.  They must have people who come into the house and say "Um, why have you built 20 of the same plane ?"

I'm one of "the guys that has to model every variant."  As I stated earlier, folks that are interested in the subject that they're building find this sort of thing enjoyable.  Personally, I don't care what other people think when they come over and see my half a dozen completed 109's.  They think I'm strange for "playing with toys" in the first place, so whats the difference if it's 109's or a series of one-off X-planes?

Long-story-short:  We all have limited time to enjoy our hobby and the goal is to get the most personal enjoyment from that time.  To that end, you can't worry about what other people think.  So, as Lee Kolosna put it "build what you want, how you want."  It is your time and money after all.

Does anyone else think it looks "odd" when someone posts a late war PTO P-47 or P-51?  It does to me, I'm so used to lookin' at them from the 8th AF... Same with B-24s in the Pacific.

It's like seein' a P-40 without a shark-mouth... Certain markings and schemes are just so ingrained with the image of certain airplanes that puts one off for a second.  Like a captured FW in US Navy camo or a Bf 109 or Jack in NMF...  Personally, I'd like to get a few more Me-109s (round noses) and convert them to post war Avia and Buchons, and even an Israeli Mersek (Mersekschmitt?)... 

One thing I was thinkin' about was that us Baby Boomers were the ones bangin' out the Mustangs, Messerschmitts, Spitfires, and Zeros for most of the 60s and 70's, since WW2 was our Dad's and Uncle's war, rather than the disconnect now with a generation of modelers having risen, our sons/daughters and nephews/nieces...

When I was a kid, EVERYone's dad was in WW2 and/or Korea... Wonder if that's got something to do with it...

 

 

It very well may be.  I know that alot of guys build for nostalgia too.  There's a guy in our club who won't build anything but old Monogram and Revell kits because thats what he built as a kid.

As far as the markings, I throughlyenjoy seeing the"same-old same old" A/C in different colors.  Case in point:  The new Eduard Hellcat Royal Class... I almost bought that kit just for the orange drone marking...lol

There's a guy in our club who won't build anything but old Monogram and Revell kits because thats what he built as a kid.

LOL... That very well could be me, and although I don't build those exclusively, they make up about 80% of my purchases, and I hunt Ebay for Monograms 1/48th all the time...  I like the sparseness of the details on the earlier kits from the 60's since then there's so much extra detailing to do, I can scratch-build details to my heart's content..

To bondoman and Aaronw:

bondoman wrote:

Really, and not to take this in another direction, but why isn't there a B-18?

Maybe no manufacturer has thought of it yet, because there isn't an apparent or vocal demand.  Any manufacturer who might consider it would have to gamble that potential sales income would cover the production costs.

But maybe, if there are some kit manufacturers visiting our forum, mentions like this might bring a wish list item like this on their radar.  We should contact manufacturers, too, if there's something we want to see, that no one makes yet.  It's certainly easier now, than it was when I first did it as a kid, writing Monogram with suggestions for armor kits.  Access is faster.

That brings up a good point about "over-modeled", modeler demand, and kit production.  I'm not sure that it's clear which came first, demand or production, though I suspect that if we go all the way back to the beginning of the plastic model industry, or even before, to the paper-and-stick or carve-your-own wood kits, it was demand first, and makers responded.  Every boy (in the Allied countries, at least) wanted a P-40, P-51 or Spitfire, like he saw in the newspapers and newsreels, and kit manufacturers responded, because they knew demand was there.

Fast-forward to our time, and I'd still say it's demand that drives development, though perhaps it doesn't weigh as heavily as it might have, or perhaps it's subtler today, because modelers have more diverse and sophisticated tastes.

I can't imagine any manufacturer not caring about production costs, except perhaps for a garage manufacturer, who makes something because he wants to, and maybe makes more copies and sells or trades them.

We have the same debate in the toy soldier world-are some subjects over-represented or not, and there are the same concerns, from manufacturers-production costs vs potential sales.

Regards,

Brad

Every boy (in the Allied countries, at least) wanted a P-40, P-51 or Spitfire, like he saw in the newspapers and newsreels, and kit manufacturers responded, because they knew demand was there.

That's kinda what I was sayin'... The WW2 birds that came out of the 60's were done by us Baby Boomers, as well as the War Babies...  Our Dads were in their 30's and 40's and were the ones who saw those Warbirds in everyday life, whether it be newsreels or first-hand.  My own dad was a fighter pilot, by the time I was modeling, he'd been flying jets for years, but his first "love" was the Warbirds and that's what we built together... I spent the first 13 years of my life, until Dad retired in '71, on Air Force Bases with jets flying overhead every day, saw Voo Doos and Phantoms and Huns(oh my) all the time, litterally grew up with fighter pilots (some you've even heard of)... Although I do miss the sounds of a section take-off in full AB at times, I still would rather build the Warbirds.   Guess that's why I stay active in the CAF as well... No other way to up close and personal with those aircraft...

But I really would like to see more quality kits of the "Yellow Wings"... Life-Like put out some 30's birds in 1/48th like the Fairey Flycatcher and Hawker Fury, but they've gone the way of the Dodo...  

hkshooter wrote:

Awesome work, Manny. Makes me want to build more 109s!

Thanks, man!!!

Hartmann352 wrote:

Awesome collection Manny......ahhhh someday. I'm guessing that you are running out of room for display....and I know I have room for the Hartmann.... But I have a question too...The Hartmann looks like an early to mid Gustav...did they have that type of canopy? (just trying to learn, not meant in a negative light by any means.) , Dave

That particular 109 (white 1) was documented fairly well in several pics and over the years there has been speculation of it either being a late G-6 or G-14...if you look close it has the tall, wooden tail...these tails were fitted to some late G-6's and most (or all) G-14's...that style canopy was common in late model G-6's and all G-14's...I belive he started flying this a/c in late Fall of '44...